What Non Profits Should Know About Direct Mail Fundraising
Direct Mail Fundraising
Since funding through the direct mail services is here to stay, a lot of individuals and firms have used it in raising funds for their various causes. As a non for profit organization, raising funds through this same medium is something that should be targeted as well. There are a lot of money to be made from soliciting for funds through mailing and with the appropriate strategies, the not for profit firms can use this to its advantage. In using the direct mailing platform for raising funds, there are some basics that not for profit firms must know.
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Start Your Direct Mailing with Known Contacts
If you are just starting your direct mail fundraising campaign as a not for profit, it is advisable to start by mailing the contacts you know from your house files. It is good to want to reach a wide variety of people and let them know why they need to help in funding your projects, but it is very expensive. The corporate firms and businesses that engage in such activities spent a lot of time and money before getting those data. It will not be fair to start your campaign at a huge cost, so, it is better to use your direct mail to reach out to the people whose contacts you know now, and take it from there later on after making great strides.
Make Your Points Well Known and Convincing
If you are asking someone to make a donation to a project you are handling, no matter how noble the project may seem you need to be able to make a compelling argument as to why prospective donors should help you in funding such projects. No one would make donations because you told them to do so. They want to see a well executed blueprint and plan of how you wish to spend their money in achieving such targets. Being able to do this would enhance the success of your campaign.
Perfect the Art of Sending Thank You Letters
When a donor gives to your fundraising campaign, you must make it a point of duty to send a thank you letter to such donor. This is because such letters may be the incentive the donor would need to give to your future fundraising campaigns. There is also the word of the mouth. This means if you impress a current donor by appreciating his/her little gestures in your current campaign, such donor may even influence another to give to your future campaigns.
Portray Donors as the Real Heroes
Don’t just use your donors as moneybags and dump them. They want to be a part of your story. They want to be seen in the society as people who have contributed to noble causes which has helped the communities where they live. Cast them as the real heroes in the face of the public and the next time you start a direct mail fundraising campaign, they would give out their full support by continuing to donate to your project.
People and how you communicate with them and treat them is very important if your direct mail fundraising is going to be successful as a not for profit organization. Donors want to know you care about them also and not just about their money. Hatching the right plans to make your current donors feel wanted and prospective donors to give to your projects would determine the success of your campaign.
